Free What the Doctor Didn't Tell Her by Jacqueline Diamond

Chapter One
     
     
    “ Finally, it’s Friday!”
declared receptionist Edda Jones, red hair framing her round,
freckled face as she clicked off her computer terminal and grabbed
her purse from behind the counter. “Anyone else going to the Orange
County Fair this weekend?”
    Dr. Sarah Matthews listened to a
chorus of agreement from the office nurses. When they turned toward
her, she said, “I have on-call duty all three nights. I’m not going
anywhere except home to bed.”
    Although her usual schedule involved
only one or two nights of delivering babies per week, one of the
obstetricians had recently left for a position in nearby Los
Angeles. Being single and still owing on medical school loans,
Sarah had volunteered to fill in. Despite her debts, she wasn’t
sure how much longer she could keep up the pace.
    “ But the fair only comes
once a year,” Edda protested. “I love that booth where they’ll
deep-fry almost anything. Pastries, cereal, sandwiches. I can’t
wait to find out what they’re frying this summer.”
    “ Maybe next
year.”
    Missing out on zany activities didn’t
bother Sarah nearly as much as the fact that she had no one to
share them with. As her mother kept reminding her, how could she
meet men when she spent all her time in an obstetrical
practice?
    “ I heard that Dr. McKay
and Dr. Van Dam interviewed someone by Skype,” Edda said. “Maybe
we’ll have a new OB on staff soon.”
    “ That would be
wonderful.”
    From her private office on the
corridor, Dr. Jane McKay popped out, phone to her ear. “Next week
would be more than acceptable,” she said into her mobile. “Did the
rental agent find you a place? Terrific! As for a babysitter, I may
know someone available for overnights.”
    “ Sounds like we’re in
luck,” Edda observed, trailing the nurses toward the rear exit.
“Have a good weekend!”
    “ You too,” Sarah replied
with a touch of envy.
    As the rest of the staff departed,
Jane stuck the phone in the pocket of her white coat. “Sarah, do
you suppose your mother would be willing to baby-sit a little girl
a couple of nights a week?”
    Sarah’s mother ran a licensed day-care
center in their home a few blocks from the office. Although Betsy
usually tended children from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., she was flexible,
and she’d been concerned about Sarah’s extra on-call
shifts.
    “ For a new doctor,
probably.” Pricked by curiosity, Sarah added, “Is it anyone I might
have met?” While that seemed unlikely, doctors occasionally crossed
paths during their training and at medical conferences.
    “ He said you did your
residencies together.”
    Sarah caught her breath. There’d been
quite a few residents who’d trained with her. It couldn’t
be…
    “ Does the name Daniel
Durand ring a bell?” Jane asked.
    A vise clamped onto Sarah’s throat.
She saw him instantly: dark hair tumbling across his forehead, warm
brown eyes transfixing hers, and a spontaneous joy in the bedroom
that had swept her away. She’d imagined herself in love. Too bad he
hadn’t been honest about his own feelings.
    “ If you want my opinion,
he’s an egotistical jerk,” she snapped.
    “ Sarah…”
    “ Don’t let the good looks
fool you.” She struggled to keep the bitterness from her voice.
“He’s full of himself.”
    Jane coughed. What was wrong? Then she
lifted the phone from her pocket, and Sarah realized every word she
said had been transmitted to—where was it Daniel had moved?—a small
town in northern Arizona, she recalled.
    “ So you think your mother
might be available a few nights a week?” Jane accompanied her words
with a shrug, as if to say, Let’s pretend this didn’t
happen.
    Heat suffused Sarah’s cheeks. “Most
likely.”
    As Jane retreated to her office,
talking into the phone, Sarah wondered why Daniel was moving back
to Southern California. But then, she’d never understood why a
physician skilled in advanced surgical techniques had joined a
small-town clinic